Difference between revisions of "EarthBound Beginnings"

| image=Mother_boxart.png

| caption=Mother boxart

| other boxart=EarthBound_Beginnings_eshop card.jpg

| other boxart caption=EarthBound Beginnings eshop card

| system=[[NES| Famicom]], Wii U [[Virtual Console]]

| jpreleasedate=July 27, 1989<br>June 14, 2015 <small>(Wii U Virtual Console)</small>

| nareleasedate=June 14, 2015 <small>(Wii U Virtual Console)</small>

| eureleasedate=June 14, 2015 <small>(Wii U Virtual Console)</small>

'''''EarthBound Beginnings''''' (Japanese: '''{{tt| マザー| Mazā}}''' '''''Mother''''', stylized as '''ＭＯＴＨＥＲ'''), is a 1989 roleplaying video game originally released on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System| Famicom]]. It was developed by [[Ape Inc.]] and was published by [[Nintendo]], and is the first game in the [[Mother (series)| ''EarthBound'' trilogy]]. Originally created by Japanese copywriter [[Shigesato Itoi]], ''EarthBound Beginnings'' follows the travels of four children — [[Ninten]], [[Lloyd]], [[Ana]], and [[Teddy]] — and their attempts to stop an intergalatic alien's invasion of Earth. Gameplay takes place within an overworld consisting of Americana themes and tropes, where random encounters trigger turn-based battles with menu interfaces.

''Mother'' was released to positive reception and commercial success in Japan, although some noted its difficulty. In 1990, Nintendo of America commenced and completed localization of the game under the name ''Earth Bound''. However, the release of the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] and other difficulties resulted in the game not being released for the NES. Prototype cartridges of the localized version were discovered and uploaded to the Internet in 1998 with the name "EarthBound Zero". ''Mother'' would later be succeeded by ''[[Mother 2]]'' and ''[[Mother 3]]'', of which only ''Mother 2'' would be released internationally as ''[[EarthBound]]''. ''Mother'' was later part of the Game Boy Advance compilation ''[[Mother 1+2]]'' in 2003. On June 15, 2015, Mother was finally released in North America and other countries on the Wii U Virtual Console as ''EarthBound Beginnings'', following the original prototype version, making it the second installment of the series to be released outside Japan.

In the year 198X, Ninten, a young boy north of the city of [[Podunk]], has his house wracked by a doll, which holds a tune that he memorizes. His father calls and instructs him to go on an adventure to realize his PSI skills. In the town, he rescues [[Pippi]], a girl missing in the graveyard, and calms the Zoo, where animals had gone crazy due to the influence of a cosmic [[Starman]]. Heading east, Ninten comes across an entryway to {{ebb| Magicant}}—a mystical world ruled by Queen Mary. She explains the importance of finding eight melodies to complete a song. Returning to the normal world, Ninten finds a boy named [[Lloyd]], who joins Ninten's party. They head to the wintry town of [[Snowman]], where a psychic girl named [[Ana]] joins the party. The children find the melodies along canaries, haunted houses, a talking cactus, and dragons beneath Magicant.

Ninten, Lloyd, and Ana arrive in [[Ellay]]. The leader of the [[Bla-Bla Gang]], [[Teddy]], attacks the group, but soon becomes amiable after losing to Ninten. At the base of the nearby Mt. Itoi, Ninten and Ana profess their love. A large robot attacks their cabin, and the party is saved by Lloyd. Teddy is severely injured. The party continues to climb Mt. Itoi, and meet George's benevolent robot, [[EVE]]. Their quick ascent ends after EVE sacrifices herself to defeat a large robot. After learning the final melody at the summit of the mountain, the party is teleported to Magicant. Queen Mary, recalling the Melodies, tells the party of her adopted young alien child named [[Giygas]], and reveals herself as Maria. Magicant, a result of her own conscience, disappears, along with Maria herself, leaving the children to face the alien threat at the peak.

At the top, Giygas reveals himself, telling how George stole the ability of PSI, unknowingly "betraying his people". Giygas attempts to unleash an attack on the party, but the children sing the Eight Melodies to him. Giygas, recalling Maria and her motherly love, is overwhelmed in emotion, and departs from the Earth. Lloyd, Ana, and Teddy return to their normal lives, while Ninten returns home. His father calls, and while waiting for Ninten to answer, states that "something has come up".  

{{Character list/cell| [[File:Ninten sprite.png| 25px| link=Ninten]]| [[Ninten]]| '''Ninten''' is the game's protagonist. A 12-year-old boy from the town of [[Podunk]], he is sent by Queen Mary of Magicant to locate the Eight Melodies. Ninten can use special PSI abilities like [[4th-D Slip]] and [[QuickUp| Quick Up]]. He can also use various [[baseball bat| baseball bats]] to attack opponents.}}

{{Character list/cell| [[File:Lloyd sprite.png| 25px| link=Lloyd]]| [[Lloyd]]| '''Lloyd''' is an 11-year-old weak and nerdy boy from [[Merrysville]]. Although lacking PSI, Lloyd can attack enemies using various types of [[gun]]s and explosives.}}

{{Character list/cell| [[File:Ana sprite.png| 25px| link=Ana]]| [[Ana]]| '''Ana''' is a 12-year-old girl from [[Snowman]]. Ana joins Ninten to look for her missing mother. She possesses many powerful offensive PSI abilities. Additionally, Ana can use [[frying pan]]s as weapons.}}

{{Character list/cell| [[File:Teddy sprite.png| 25px| link=Teddy]]| [[Teddy]]| '''Teddy''' is the boss of the [[Bla-Bla Gang]]. Teddy joins Ninten to avenge his murdered parents. Although he lacks PSI, Teddy excels in physical combat, especially with [[blade]]s.}}

*'''Asthema''' - renders the player unable to attack. This ailment is exclusive to Ninten.

*'''HP''' (Short for "Heart Points") - Shows the amount of damage Ninten can withstand. Any healing item replenishes this.

*'''PP''' (Short for "Psychic Points") - Shows how much PSI Ninten can use.

*'''Offense''' - Shows the maximum amount of damage Ninten can deal with a normal attack.

*'''Defense''' - Shows how much damage Ninten can resist from an enemy attack.

*'''Speed''' - Determines how fast Ninten can attack. If he has the greater speed, he attacks first.

{| style="background:#{{darkcolor|{{{game|EBB}}}}}; border: 2px solid #{{darkcolor|{{{game|EBB}}}}}; {{roundy|15px}}; width: 100%; padding: 2px;"  

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[File:Lamp.gif]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[South Cemetery]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |3 (If defeated)<br>60-80 (If left alone)

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[Merrysville]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[File:MadCar.gif]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[File:MadTruck.gif]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[File:ManiacTruck.gif]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[File:PsychoCar.gif]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[File:PsychoTruck.gif]]

| style="background: #fff;text-align:center;" |[[File:Titanian.gif]]

{| style="background:#{{darkcolor|{{{game|EBB}}}}}; border: 2px solid #{{darkcolor|{{{game|EBB}}}}}; {{roundy|15px}}; width: 100%; padding: 2px;"  

The game was translated into English by Nintendo of America in 1990 and slated for a 1991 release, but marketing delays prevented the translated game, to be titled '''Earth Bound''' in English, from ever seeing release. The fan group Demiforce, who had been working on their own translation of the game at the time, discovered that a prototype cartridge had been sold to Kenny Brooks, a game collector, and made a deal with him to release a ROM of the game to the public in 1998. The released ROM featured minor alterations from the prototype cartridge to get around the copy protections Nintendo had placed on it, as well as the addition of "Zero" to the title screen to differentiate it from [[EarthBound| its sequel]], which had received an English release in 1995. Since then, four other cartridges with the prototype have been found, one of which resides in Nintendo of America's headquarters.<ref>[http://www.earthboundcentral.com/2009/09/earthbound-zero-prototype-info/ EarthBound Central: "EarthBound Zero Prototype Info"]</ref>

On June 14, 2015, Nintendo announced and released Mother for Wii U Virtual Console, in Japanese as well as its first ever English release, under the title '''EarthBound Beginnings'''. While the English version is the same as the unreleased English prototype, the Japanese version had several changes from ''Mother 1+2'' backported to it. Notably, the [[Crow]]'s cigarette was removed and a line in [[Twinkle Elementary School]] that mentioning ''[[dragonquest:Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen| Dragon Quest 4]]'' had the reference to that game removed.<ref>[http://earthboundcentral.com/2015/06/japanese-wii-u-mother-has-changes/ EarthBound Central: "Japanese Wii U MOTHER Has Changes"]</ref>

EarthBound Beginnings also received strong positive reception in the west, similar to its successor. It was one of the most bought NES game on the Wii U Virtual Console during its lifespan, and was the only NES game with a 5 star rating during the first few months of the release. Critics praised its originality, music, and artstyle, while saying how it "parodies" other more "serious" RPG games such as the ''[[dragonquest:Dragon Quest (series)| Dragon Quest]]'' series. Around the time of its Inital release, EarthBound Beginnings was the best selling downloadable game on the Wii U in America and Europe, surpassing Splatoon in digital sales<ref>https://earthboundcentral.com/2015/06/earthbound-beginnings-rules-multiple-wii-u-sales-charts/</ref>.

However, the game has recieved criticism, one of the most noted is the balancing problems. Many parts of the game give the enemies a sudden increase in difficulty (most infamously [[Mt. Itoi]]) which causes many players to go through long periods of level grinding in order to progress, other complaints also include the random encounter rate. Nevertheless, EarthBound Beginnings remains one of the most popular downloadable games on the virtual console behind its successor.

{{Gallery|galleryname=Boxart and promotional art|color=EBB}}

{{gallery/cell|Mother boxart.png|150px|Japanese Boxart for Mother}}